Electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) offer a variety of games such as mechanical spinning reel games, video spinning reel games, video poker games, roulette games, keno games and other types of wagering games that are commonly deployed at a casino for use by players. Playing the EGMs typically requires the player to place a wager on the outcome of a game.
Server based gaming technologies (e.g. Video Lottery with central random number generation of the type disclosed in Gaming Laboratories International, Inc. Standard Series entitled Client Server Systems GLI-21 v2.2 dated May 18, 2007, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,409,602 and 6,749,510) are becoming more and more important in recent years as governments seek to gain as much control as possible over operations in the gaming industry. To this end the game results and financial transactions (pay-in, pay-out) must be stored centrally on systems networked to the individual electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) such that records are available in order to continuously monitor the various functions and outcomes of individual games and gaming activities.
There are different random number generator (“RNG”) models in use with EGMs for generating random numbers (“RNs”) during game play to determine game outcomes. One such technique is generation of RNs at a central server or computing system. This is a solution that simplifies the process of maintaining records of game play results in a single central location. Central RN generation also reduces the risk of security breaches that can occur if local RNGs are used. This is because in cases when the RNs are generated on each individual EGM and subsequently together with the game outcome transferred to the central server where the game history and the accounting data are stored, local manipulations of the RNG are theoretically feasible.
Historically, the first RNGs were implemented in hardware in each individual EGM locally. The historical data related to the operation of the RNG was maintained locally on the EGM and could be verified by examining the recordings on the particular EGM. More recently, hardware RNGs were replaced in modern microprocessor based EGMs with so-called pseudo-RNGs (deterministic generation of a series of numbers with the statistical properties of random series) in order to reduce cost and increase reliability. Historical data related to the operation of the software based pseudo-RNG continued to be maintained locally on the EGM, although as EGMs were connected to networks, it became possible to upload the data to a central server for tracking. In lottery applications, central pseudo-RNGs have been used where RNs are provided over a network to individual EGMs connected to the network. Data related to operation of the pseudo-RNGs was typically maintained in a central storage.
A problem with software based pseudo-RNGs is that they generate deterministic series of numbers which merely exhibit the statistical properties of random series but which are not truly random. This restriction means that in cases where true random series are a crucial requirement, a different type of RNG must be used: a hardware RNG based on physical processes. The main constraint of such HW-RNGs is that they do not produce random numbers on demand but instead they provide a more or less continuous stream of numbers. In cases where temporary storage of previously generated random numbers (real-time requirement) is forbidden, the HW-RNG stream must be accessed in an appropriate way in order not to overflow the server with requests. The present invention provides a means and method to implement a true HW-RNG that optimizes the access times and computational resources in order to achieve operating speeds that are fast enough to supply RNs to a large network of EGMs while maintaining records of all RNs generated in a central database where they can be easily stored and verified.